TOP 5 floor standing speakers for home theater

Good, inexpensive floorstanding speakers are as much an oxymoron as a subcompact SUV. On multiband acoustics, usually, new technologies are tested, and their prices are appropriate — from a modest $ 700 – 1000 for a pair to absolutely space price tags at the level of a three-ruble note in the centre. It is all the more interesting to look at Tannoy 's Eclipse series, which the English manufacturer positions as "the entry level of high-quality audiophilia."

The body of the speakers is made of MDF covered with vinyl film, the speaker flanges and other parts are plastic. There is nothing unusual here. But the build quality is pleasantly surprising (especially for such a price), the speakers are recessed into the mounting holes without the smallest gaps, which makes the speakers seem like a monolith.

Especially for the Eclipse series, Tannoy has developed a polyester tweeter (size: 28 mm) with a neodymium magnet. In turn, the diaphragm of the 127 mm mid/bass driver is made of fine fiber enriched with cellulose. This approach allowed to reduce production costs, without depriving the speakers of the ability to sound bright and accurate.

The system reproduces a fairly solid frequency range from 44 to 32000 Hz. It is quite solid even against the background of more expensive speakers, although the bass in the ultra-low register is sometimes not enough. Like the entire Eclipse series, the “twos” captivate with their euphony and the ability to adequately reproduce a wide variety of audio signals. And the timbre colour that is pleasant to the ear sometimes, although it does not sound too honest, does not bother even with prolonged listening. To summarize, in terms of sound, the Eclipse Two are natural workhorses with a wide range of tasks and pleasant sound. But their sound can hardly be called perfect.

If we consider the Eclipse Two with reference to the price tag, then we will see almost the best “floor” speakers in the low-cost segment over the past 3-4 years. It's not for nothing that the Eclipse series received five stars from What Hi-Fi and won the award for Best Entry-Class Speaker at the 2015 CEDIA show in Dallas.

NS-555 inspire respect — they are powerful, heavy (20 kg per speaker) and look monolithic. As always with Yamaha, the build quality and fit of the speaker parts is impeccable. The only thing you can find fault with is the easily soiled lacquer coating, on which traces instantly remain. But it is thanks to several layers of paint and varnish that they are more reminiscent of antique furniture from the count's mansion than countertops from IKEA. Definitely one of the most impressive speakers under $1000.

The model is built according to a three-way scheme, four proprietary emitters are installed in each speaker. The design provides a two-wire connection. A pair of low-frequency speakers of the previous generation (diameter 160 mm) with a high-powered magnetic system is responsible for the lower case. As you get higher, things get more interesting. There we will see a mid-range driver (diameter 130 mm) of a new generation with a diaphragm made of patented PMD composite material. Even higher is a high-frequency tweeter with an aluminium dome. According to the NS-555 passport, they cover the frequency range from 35 to 35000 Hz, the maximum power is 250 watts.

The character of the system's sound is typical of Yamaha — the most honest, detailed and without excessive coloring. Usually, this model is praised for the jewelry reproduction of mids, but its signature Yamaha “tops” are even more impressive. Acoustics from that breed, on which it is worth re-listening to your favorite albums in order to find hidden details. Bass reproduction is of high quality, but this is not the most striking feature of this acoustics. More importantly, however, all three bands work together to create a mesmerizing tonal diversity and deliver rich dynamic contrast at any volume.

In general, the NS-555 are omnivorous speakers that work equally well with music of different genres (especially with classics) and multi-channel Hollywood blockbuster tracks .. It’s not for nothing that they have been confidently holding the top sales for years, and Yamaha continues to support this line.

Dali Zensor 7 is a prestigious floorstanding speaker system with high-quality sound for relatively little money. At 98 cm high, they are quite light (14.9 kg per sibling), but this is not a problem thanks to the rigid and durable aluminium base with adjustable spikes. The front panel of Zensor 7 is glossy, the rest of the parts are finished in wood. Interestingly, this is just a vinyl film, but the quality is so high that some reviewers of foreign publications confused it with a natural veneer finish.

A compact (25 mm) tweeter with a soft dome is hidden in the upper part. Below it is a pair of two-way mid/bass drivers (178 mm) with cones made of traditional DALI material — cellulose reinforced with wood fiber. The range of reproducible frequencies is from 40 to 26500 Hz.

For ease of use, the phase inverter port has been moved to the front side, so the speakers can be safely placed point-blank against the wall without fear that the bass will be smeared around the room. But as practice has shown, it is still better to give them a little space (50 cm from the wall is enough) to open up.

The sound signature is light and refined, with high-quality transmission of even strong dynamic signal changes. When listening to the Zensor 7, the most impressive are the mids, which do not lose detail even in a very dense sound canvas. "Top" transparent and bright, without sharpness and sand overtones. Powerful and rounded bass fills the room and sometimes sticks out like a sumo wrestler's belly. In the case of a home theater, this is only a plus — thunder, explosions and the sounds of collapsing buildings fill the entire room and sound unusually powerful.

But when it comes to music with a dynamic bass like drum & bass, the lower frequencies can sometimes feel clumsy. When it comes to music, the Zensor 7 is not the most omnivorous speaker — first of all, they sparkle when it comes to emotional, but too dynamic music like jazz, blues, classical and light pop. Although, in reviews, people often write that they bought them with an eye on electronic music and were more than satisfied.

The "seven hundredth" series is a long-term folk hit in the Focal home acoustics line, which is loved by music lovers for its sound, appearance and attractive price-quality ratio for Focal. Usually, their products are either expensive or very expensive. In 2015, the series underwent an upgrade — the already successful internal design became even more thoughtful, and the Parisian design bureau Pineau & Le Porcher gave the speakers a new look.

The Chorus 726 model is made according to a 3-way scheme in a bass-reflex acoustic design. On top of the metal corner is a tweeter with a proprietary concave dome made of aluminium and magnesium alloy. Focal emphasizes that in the new model the tweeter is fixed using the patented Poron polyurethane microfoam, which made it possible to reduce distortion at frequencies of 2-3 kHz, to which the human ear is extremely sensitive, by a factor of 3.

Below the tweeter, we'll see a midrange driver and a pair of woofers that feed the front bass reflex. The cones of all drivers are made of a well-proven paper reinforced with a coating of micro glass beads.

With considerable sensitivity, the 726s sound very confident and free. The music scene is spacious and airy. All accents are tracked very clearly, making the sound lively and mobile. Instrument timbres are transmitted with high fidelity. In general, the speakers cover the frequency range from 49 to 28000 Hz.

If we analyze the sound in more detail, then Chorus 726 sound very balanced. "Bottoms" are clear, fast and dense, but without a rumble. The middle is lively and clear, without excessive stiffness or loudness. The only fly in the ointment, which is often written about in reviews, is a metallic overtone in the upper spectrum. But this is not the problem of the tweeter itself, but the sound of a metal protective mesh that can be removed.

The new speakers from Klipsch are large speakers, even by the standards of rather big floorstanders. Each speaker weighs 28.35 kg. This size is not suitable for everyone and is unlikely to be useful in a small room — they simply do not have enough space to turn around. In this case, the RP line has younger models Klipsch RP-250F and Klipsch RP-260F . All in all, the Reference Premiere series, consisting of three floorstanders, three centre speakers and a pair of bookshelf speakers, covers any need for a multi-channel system.

Klipsch engineers are once again ahead of the curve and come up with some interesting engineering solutions. The first is the intricate molded silicone horn of the Hybrid Tractrix tweeter. In listening tests, it smoothed out the harshness of the high frequencies nicely and sounded frighteningly realistic.

The second is the pumped LF/MF speakers made of titanium with a ceramic coating and a titanium frame. Such a system gives stability to the structure and minimizes sound deformation. At the output, this gives an equally realistic sound, even if you gradually crank the volume of the amplifier to the maximum.

Thanks to the updated speaker design, the RP-280F turned out to be very bassy. Their lower threshold of the frequency spectrum is 32 Hz versus the standard 40-45 Hz for most multi-band systems. This is one of the few multi-way speakers that makes subwoofer installation meaningless. At least indoors up to 50 squares.

The main feature of the RP-280F is their ability to reproduce any acoustic nuance in its original form. They always sound honest, solid and accurate, great emphasizing the dynamics of the source material. And it doesn't matter if it's the assertive Finnish death metal or the gentle voice of Aretha Franklin. And as you know, speakers that skillfully operate with musical material simply cannot sound bad in a home theater.